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Sunday, December 8, 2013

Chiseling Out Your Soul (Part One)

To know and live in a place of peace is the hope I hold for my clients. However, the path of recovery can often feel treacherous and full of steep slopes, crags, and ravines. In Alcoholics Anonymous, there is a metaphor that likens the recovery process to peeling back the layers of an onion. As we gain access to the center, we gain deeper understanding and we clear the way for growth.

Riding the highs and lows of recovery can also feel like a roller coaster. Sometimes the rising path feels limitless, exciting, and clear, while the descent evokes an overwhelming sense of despair and disorientation. This is the nature of the healing process.

It is important to understand this process because, in the beginning, there can be great elation, as you find your able to quickly gain insight, resources, and support around recovery. You are developing new awareness as old paradigms shift and new ones emerge. It is as if the world has gone from black-and-white to color. Everything becomes clearer and more enriching; there is hope and promise. This period is called the "pink cloud," and it is a time in which you experience discovery, personal awareness, a sense of gratitude, and motivation. The pat is clear, and the answers come easily.